Maybe it is just me, but I find myself sometimes sitting there thinking, "I don't think I want to come up here again" or missing my family....does anyone else have these feelings? I am not sure if it is being homesick for my family, boredom, or maybe something else. When I get home, I tell my wife I don't think we will go again. But then, a month or so later, I start reading the board again and start planning again and the fire is lit again.

Am I more into the planning of the trip than the trip?
Have I not found the right kind of trip? (Basecamp/travel every day)
Maybe it is the 8 hour drive?

Don't get me wrong, I don't feel like this the whole trip....it is just a moment here or there. I love being up there and enjoying the silence and fishing. Just wondering if anybody else feels like this once in a while?

For me, planning is not the fun part of the trip. Being there is the fun part. Being a soloist, I get a little lonely but those feelings last for just a short time. Then on the way out of the bwca I start to think about home and my husband and that I miss him and the cats. Only when I see people just going in, I get jealous. Its like I am physically ready to go home but not mentally. Then on the drive home, I think about where I am going next year.

My blues are that I want to go back, immediately after leaving!!! But it's a long drive from Florida.

My post trip blues start after unloading the canoe, and last about 24 hours during which I have a 1,000 mile drive back to Ohio. After 24 hours I start to think about the next trip.

I had one trip where I ruined an SLR cannon, the fish bite was slow, I had no real plan and as a result I left several days early. Aw, poor baby ;-(

Now my happy place is thinking/planning my annual trip and 20+ days on the water or trail is the minimum. For me it takes about a week to get into the swing of things and start to unwind. My wife seems to be a bit unhappy about the length of my trips (probably right after I leave there is an annual party LOL) but she knows I'm going so why start a big fight?

Never had any time for post trip blues. We usually took 2-3 or more days for our trip back to Michigan and found fun things to do along the way. Once we got home, I was buried under a mountain of laundry for about four days, and while the washer and dryer were humming, I was sorting through photos and assembling either a big photo book, or (in later years) making a photo book online at Snapfish. That took about as long as the laundry, and many times longer. We really enjoy the books now that we no longer go canoe-tripping.

By the time all of that was done, and the camping gear cleaned up and put away, the book done, and the house back to some semblance of order, mail dealt with, correspondence up to date, a quick look-through at the newspapers, etc. it would be back to "normal" life for a while. When I was teaching, that usually meant getting lesson plans started and preparing for a new school year. After I was retired from the public school, it just meant getting back to the new church choir year (planning again, as I was the director) and resuming normal activities.

We went on our trips together. Most of our trips were 8-12 days, and we took a few days before and after to see friends, and to enjoy sightseeing. So our "vacation" would be 2-3 weeks. But because we were all gone from home, once we returned home, all home activities had to be resumed. There was no one at home waiting, or keeping things done up for us.

I was always very sad at the end of a trip. Leaving the BWCA or the Q was always a bittersweet time, and I don't remember more than one or two times that I was actually relieved to be back in "civilization" after a trip. They always seemed too short, no matter how long they were. But that feeling only lasted until we drove away from Ely or the North Shore area.

I don't think what you describe is abnormal at all. I have experienced the same feelings and I know others that have as well. It's probably a combination of missing the people you love most in life (nothing shameful about that), and a little bit of "been there, done that", syndrome.

Now I recognize that I need these trips for my own well being, to decompress, to get away from emails, phone calls, continuous problems, etc... I've learned to just soak up and enjoy these relatively short periods of peace, surrounded by beauty, able to commune with God with no distractions, when sitting on the shore during periods of down time.

Yes, I miss my wife and sons, although the sons are preoccupied with their own lives, jobs, and girlfriends, but these trips have a way of making me appreciate them more and I like to think I always come back with renewed effort at being a better husband and father.

So just keep plugging away, planning new adventures. I've often wondered how I would feel if I had my wife and sons up there together for a trip and if that would completely cure those trip blues...chances are, I'd never want to come home if I had my whole family up there.

I can't say I've ever experienced that Cc26; usually just the opposite - I find myself wishing it could be a little longer or more than once a year. Maybe it's different being an "empty nester" though and an older guy.

I also drive 1000 miles to Ohio (then often an additional 450 to N VA)
A little blue hits unloading at take-out.
Then the next morning at the laundry mat in Ely.
Then all the way home until I see family.

quote johndku: "My post trip blues start after unloading the canoe, and last about 24 hours during which I have a 1,000 mile drive back to Ohio. After 24 hours I start to think about the next trip."

I have the same problem, you must live close to me, because that is about the same distant I drive. Are you from anywhere in SW Ohio?

Well, this may very well be apples vs oranges because my wife goes with me, my son used to go but my kids are all grown and gone now. There's really nothing "behind" except my dog, and my daughter takes care of him. It's 19 hours from here to the nearest EP, we make it a road trip. We push a little harder on the trip up but take an extra day on the way home. It's all a process. If I had to scramble to make the drive either way I probably wouldn't go back either. And just in case the question arises, the dog is 5 feet long, minus the tail, 165 pounds and I'm 99% sure he would attack a bear if he ever saw one. He never really had a canoeing future.

Lately, I'm getting some of what Cc26 is feeling. The tendonitis in my left shoulder isn't helping The Cause either. I won't stop making the 900+ miles trek but I might slow down ~ perhaps every other year.

Maybe after the 1st or 2nd trip but now that I've done over 40 trips it never crosses my mind, now it's more how I can make the trip longer.

Cc, everyone’s experience is different. I’ve never been homesick anywhere, and I feel a sense of regret when the end of the trip approaches. I’m also thinking about my next trip by the time I’m off the water.

As a soloist, I spend the entire time with my own thoughts. I think about my wife, of course, which makes me appreciate how lucky I am. I don’t miss her while I’m out, but once I reach the exit, I can’t wait to see her again. I don’t have kids at home anymore, so I’m not concerned about them while I’m away.

I think you may be experiencing a bit of all the things you mentioned. The fact that you question the value of your trips (even as you enjoy them) tells me that you need to make some changes, so that you can figure out what’s bothering you. Here are some suggestions:
- Who do you trip with? Try a different tripping partner.
- Make your next trip a family trip (no more missing the family!)
- Try doing a shorter trip
- If you base camp, try moving every day
- Include places of interest in your travels, such as pictographs or waterfalls
- Add an interesting activity like photography, reading, keeping a journal, etc.

There are some good replies in this thread. Let us know what you think!

quote QueticoMike: "

quote johndku: "My post trip blues start after unloading the canoe, and last about 24 hours during which I have a 1,000 mile drive back to Ohio. After 24 hours I start to think about the next trip."

I have the same problem, you must live close to me, because that is about the same distant I drive. Are you from anywhere in SW Ohio?"

QueticoMike - I'm about 20 miles south of Cleveland, (997 miles from my door to Seagull Outfitters), but get to Southern Ohio on occasion for work. If you ever want a beer and swap stories, you can e-mail me at jdkulka@aol.com

quote QueticoMike: "

quote johndku: "My post trip blues start after unloading the canoe, and last about 24 hours during which I have a 1,000 mile drive back to Ohio. After 24 hours I start to think about the next trip."

I have the same problem, you must live close to me, because that is about the same distant I drive. Are you from anywhere in SW Ohio?"

QueticoMike - I'm about 20 miles south of Cleveland, (997 miles from my door to Seagull Outfitters), but get to Southern Ohio on occasion for work. If you ever want a beer and swap stories, you can e-mail me at jdkulka@aol.com

I think that just means you had a good trip. You left it all on the field....so to speak. You use up a lot of adrenaline and live more intensely than you do in day to day situations. Your mind and body are just adjusting to a new normal of the mundane daily routine.

quote mapsguy1955: "My blues are that I want to go back, immediately after leaving!!! But it's a long drive from Florida. "

I only have a few hours drive up but I have the same feeling, I want to go back soon as I get home. If it weren't for the fact that I have loved ones back home, I would never leave (UP NORTH ) p.s. Except in winter of course :-)

I get the blues when we shove off from the last campsite on the last morning. We always stop and say a quick prayer of thanks for the beautiful wilderness and for the friendships. Everyone gets a little choked up. The trips mean a lot to us, like they do to all of you.

I think I will be really, really sad on the day my kids are too old or busy to go. BWCA trips have been solid times of family togetherness for us.

I'm sure we all feel blue about this and other things once and a while. Good thread here with thoughtful responses.

PJS

it's nice to get back to a hot shower and a comfortable bed , but after a week back i'd like to be back in the BWCA .

After 10 days I'm ready for a break and a week later I'm ready to go back. No regrets, no concerns, no boredom. In fact, the farther I get removed from the stress of day to day living the more relaxed and at peace I get.

Cc, what you explained in the original post is the exact feeling I get during and after my trips. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the BW and will continue to take trips every year as long as I am able. I think for me it's the waiting all year for that 1 week and I just want it to be perfect. Then mother nature intervenes and gives you wind, rain, bugs and fish that don't want to bite and the doubt starts creeping in that I could be spending my vacation somewhere else more enjoyable. However, I've been on enough trips to know that mother nature isn't always the cranky old lady we sometimes think. It's the times when the sun shines for a week, the fish bite, the wind is just strong enough to keep the bugs at bay and everything goes perfect. That's the reason I keep going back, take the good with the bad and everything will be fine. After the adrenaline rush of a BW trip fades I'm right back here with the rest of you planning and anticipating the next trip. Man I can't wait for June!

My post trip blues is always the fact I have to go home. The planning, the prep, the anticipation, the drive, and the trip itself is all what I like. I'm wondering if I will ever get to do anything much anymore. I'm pretty discouraged as I thought once the spasms stopped I'd be getting better. I have my better days, but when I do much of anything I'm back to square one with pain. Then I think of Gregular Nygard. I think he knew he was done, but kept planning that next trip anyways... because that's what we do.

What you are describing as just a thought or moment I don't feel is unusual at all. It probably shows you are very introspective. As long as it is a moment in time then no big deal, but if you have long periods of thought lie this it might be time to change it up or find a new hobby.

I've had moments like that, more so with other types of trips like my annual NFL draft party weekend with high school friends.

Don't tell your wife you aren't going again until you know for sure you are not going though :)

T

On this past August trip, Grandpa and I were paddling down the channel, and I had this feeling that this would be the last time Grandpa and I would take a trip together, because I'm not sure he has the energy anymore (75yo). As we both paddled, I said to him, "You know, Grandpa, if you don't feel up to a trip next year, you don't have to come with me." "I appreciate that, Joe, thanks for taking the pressure off me," he replied. I perceived he was feeling the same way I was. It was a bittersweet paddle for me after that.

I still have him and he's healthy yet, just getting older. If that really was the last trip, it was a good one to go out on.

Mostly my post trip blues are, "dang, now I have to go back and work, answer phones and why don't I just turn around and go back in?" (mostly thought of on my solo trips).

quote DeanL: "Cc, what you explained in the original post is the exact feeling I get during and after my trips. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the BW and will continue to take trips every year as long as I am able. I think for me it's the waiting all year for that 1 week and I just want it to be perfect. Then mother nature intervenes and gives you wind, rain, bugs and fish that don't want to bite and the doubt starts creeping in that I could be spending my vacation somewhere else more enjoyable. However, I've been on enough trips to know that mother nature isn't always the cranky old lady we sometimes think. It's the times when the sun shines for a week, the fish bite, the wind is just strong enough to keep the bugs at bay and everything goes perfect. That's the reason I keep going back, take the good with the bad and everything will be fine. After the adrenaline rush of a BW trip fades I'm right back here with the rest of you planning and anticipating the next trip. Mpan I can't wait for June!"

Thank you. This is as close as I have seen to being what I think I am thinking or feeling. This website is awesome

For me the post trip blues are that I have to go back Minneapolis. I live for the wilderness and have yet to have a trip where I was homesick solo or otherwise. It takes me a few days to snap out of it after I return but I spend most of my time in the cities dreaming of my next trip. Just got back from backpacking in Southern Utah and i'm having a hard time not dreaming of beautiful sandstone and canyons.

quote boonie: "I can't say I've ever experienced that Cc26; usually just the opposite - I find myself wishing it could be a little longer or more than once a year. Maybe it's different being an "empty nester" though and an older guy."

I too think that as I have aged, I really want to smell the roses.
life gets so busy, and you arrive to a place where the pace is slowed down by natural rhythms. seems odd not to be busy, but we must slow down and let nature lead us.
missing family and loved ones is a natural occurrence whatever we do.
heading to fall lake may 19th, can't wait. solo. meeting butthead mid week.

quote Cc26: "Am I more into the planning of the trip than the trip?
Have I not found the right kind of trip? (Basecamp/travel every day)
Maybe it is the 8-hour drive?"

Two falls ago I took my first solo backpacking trip in many many years. Prior to going, I thought about how it was going to feel being disconnected. I could not recall any significant time "alone". It was a four day, three-night trip and by the last day, I was ready to be done. I'd relaxed all I could relax, the woods was the woods, and critters were still critters. I'm so "connected" with people, devices, etc. all the time that re-learning how to be alone was a small challenge. My next solo trip was better, and then better from there.

For me, it's like a muscle that needs to be exercised. How to be "alone", even if you have another with you. How to be "away" maybe? In my reading about this, there is also an amount of time that people generally can stand being away and doing one thing, even if that one thing is a BWCA trip.

For people who want to through-hike the AT, it's not uncommon to make those massive plans then quit within a week. They haven't figured out how to be alone, or "away".

I'm also a planner. I enjoy the process of planning a trip. I get real detailed way in advance and then when the trip starts I let go of all that and let whatever happens, happen. I, like you, have wondered if I enjoy the thought of going on trip, and planning for it, more than the trip itself.

quote johndku: "

quote QueticoMike: "

quote johndku: "My post trip blues start after unloading the canoe, and last about 24 hours during which I have a 1,000 mile drive back to Ohio. After 24 hours I start to think about the next trip."

I have the same problem, you must live close to me, because that is about the same distant I drive. Are you from anywhere in SW Ohio?"

QueticoMike - I'm about 20 miles south of Cleveland, (997 miles from my door to Seagull Outfitters), but get to Southern Ohio on occasion for work. If you ever want a beer and swap stories, you can e-mail me at jdkulka@aol.com"

You can reach me at - queticomike@yahoo.com....I know it's a hard address to remember :)
I live right on I-75 about 25 miles north of Dayton if you are coming down 75 let me know.

I get depressed when I get back home and have all the car traffic and fumes. Also walking across a parking lot like Fleet Farm or Target and all the people.
Also turn TV on and all politics again.
That is depressing. Which one is the real world?

I know exactly what you are talking about, but that doesn't usually happen to me in the BWCA. Other trips, yes, like car trips or trips to the city. Concerts, too. Every concert I go to I think "never again" even though I love music.
Interesting. In myself I suspect it is low grade depression.

I would attribute those feelings of wanting to leave and go home to something long distance hikers call 'trail shock'. Most commonly this is brought about because your body is missing what it normally has. Could be beer, cheese burgers, diet coke, or fresh veggies. Your mind knows just where these things your body craves can be found (home!) and helps make up excuses for going back there sooner than planned. Just being aware of the phenomenon is a good first step to get past those feelings and back to enjoying your experience. The other strategy is to be sure to eat well (or like you normally do at home) while on the trail. An extra 5 lbs of food is well worth it to have wholesome fresh veggies a every day, just pick ones that keep well. If you are a frequent drinker at home but aren't bringing any alcohol with, remember that alcohol = sugar, and pack some extra candy to keep giving your body what it craves. If you drink coffee every day at home, be sure to do so on your trip.

You also mentioned your family. The way I get around missing them is to bring them with! I know that's not always an option, but some of our fondest family memories are from canoe trips. Perhaps shorter trips would be an option, or bring your family to the North Shore, your wife and kids can enjoy a hotel, spas, art galleries, etc while you spend time in the woods. You may even be able to convince them to paddle in on a day permit to meet you for lunch mid-trip, have them bring a pizza!

The first time we went to the BWCA, I didn't have a good time. It rained for four days straight, and just the anxiety of a completely new experience in bear country was causing me some mental stress. I was just ready for it to be over and didn't enjoy myself until we decided to cut it short by a day and make a beeline for our takeout. Naturally, the sun came out for the rest of the trip after that point, and I liked the last day and a half enough to come back.

That was the only time I've ever felt "I don't want to do this again."

The feelings I get are more "Man... I'd really like a shower and some real food and a comfortable bed" but not an urge to get out of the wilderness per se. The fresh veggies mentioned above are a big one... the salad bar at the steak house is usually the highlight of the post-trip feast, especially after a trip with all freeze dried meals.

After a particularly arduous hike (from river to North Rim of the Grand Canyon, for example) I do know that I'm not ready to think about hiking again for a long time (while knowing that I will be ready in due time... I just want to be completely lazy for now.) The feeling is purely physical - because we still like to hang around and enjoy the mountains for a few days and I think I'd still enjoy a long mountain vacation after my backpacking trip to fish, enjoy scenery,etc - I just don't want to haul a 50 pound pack up a mountain. I do always feel a pang of regret leaving the wilderness, regardless of what kind of trip I've had.

When I was younger and we used to drive to Colorado from Texas for our backpacking trips, I do remember feeling very sad whenever we'd hit the southern bit of Colorado, out of the mountains and back to the dull landscape of west and north Texas. I've always loved the Colorado Rockies and if it weren't for my wife, I'd be living there now. That's the real post-trip blues for me: knowing it will be a long time before I see my beloved mountains again.

Well, I got cancer and had to cancel my May trip and my partner and I had a sweet trip plAnned that we were both looking forward to. Being realistic, I doubt I will be able to go on our September trip either. Maybe, we'll see, but I doubt it. Post-poned trip blues. They really suck.

I don't get what you describe, but I do get a strange petulant laziness the last few days of a trip. At the start of a trip I'm the first one up and raring to go. The closer I am to the takeout point the more I want to just hang out in the tent in the mornings. I usually make whoever I'm with (husband, son, daughter) get up and take the fly off the tent and make me coffee and then I lie in the tent enjoying the breezes and reading until they force me to get moving. I did a trip once with my then middle school aged son and college age daughter and overheard her telling him that mom does this every trip, she's just trying to avoid going home.

Cc, I thought maybe I was the only one who had such feelings...though for me I can pinpoint the issue...it is missing the people I love. When I am with a good group in the wilderness, I truly enjoy the experience, yet find myself always yearning for the company of this person or that one as well.
I raised my my kids with multiple short trips to the BWCA every year. Now that they are grown and all moved away, we still try to get some of us together once a year to up there to fish and/or camp. I love those times. I can remember hesitating at the edge of a favorite lake to say goodbye and then realizing everyone else had pushed on up the portage trail ahead of me. I felt a sudden rush of loneliness, even panic, as I realized the separation. I always wonder if it will be the last time...and then we are together the next year. I have coined the phrase "Portage trails lead both ways" because it is comforting to consider the good times still to come.

I love to fish and camp alone with my wife, but I always am aware that I will miss those kids fiercely. She does too. In fact she loves to check out new campsites that might have potential for bringing a larger group someday.

I realize that I love the Boundary Waters for its wild beauty, but its real treasure has been in the people that have shared it with me.

My first trip was just like you described. I was homesick,missing my kids and often wondered if i have made all the right life choices. really weird feeling. Dont know if it was the 3 days of rain and my lack of good gear or what. So i invested in quality gear and now take my 15yr old son along with my other tripping partner, havent had them same thoughts again.